Government to appeal river pollution ruling

Environment Secretary Steve Reed has appealed against a judicial review decision reached last year when Pickering Fishery Association successfully argued that the Environment Agency had failed in its legal duties to protect a former trout stream damaged by sewage pollution and runoff from fish farms.

Reed is reportedly expected to argue that planning to clean up every stream would place an excessive burden in his department.

In a case heard last November Lieven J ruled that the Secretary of State and the Environment Agency had not correctly set out how individual bodies of water were to be cleaned of pollution.

Defra said the Environment Secretary had announced a series of initial steps towards tackling water pollution and had secured agreement that funding for infrastructure investment would be ringfenced for upgrades that benefited customers.

He had launched an independent commission into the water sector and its regulation, chaired by former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Jon Cunliffe, and his eventual recommendations “will form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good.

On the current appeal case, Defra said: “We are unable to comment on ongoing legal matters.”

Mark Smulian